I was in Texas in November for the San Antonio Food & Wine Festival, and while there hopped up to Becker Vineyards in the Texas Hill Country, an hour or so northwest of San Antonio, for a lunch and tasting….. I only brought back one bottle of Texas wine from my trip: the Becker Vineyards Prairie Rotie, a Rhone-style blend of Carignan, Mourvedre, Syrah, and Grenache.

Post your Romantic Texas Wine Moments to VintageTexas.com using the comments field (bottom of page) at: http://vintagetexas.com/blog/?p=423 or email me at russ@vintagetexas.com. This will enter you to win two free tickets good for 4 people, to the Texas Hill Country Lovers Wine Trail compliments of http://www.texaswinetrail.com. The deadline for posting your comment to VintageTexas.com is Friday, January 23, 2009. The winning entry will be selected and notified by email by Wednesday, January 28, 2009.

Just a short post today, but it is something important. A few days ago, I blogged on the terrior of the Texas High Plains at: http://vintagetexas.com/blog/?p=387. In response, a half a world away (but virtually in our backyard), Aussie wine writer PHILIP WHITE responded to my blog on his blog (Drinkster) as follows: White wrote, “Texas has up and got Coonawarra envy….”

On-Premise Report: The Texas Wine MarketA closer look at what makes this dynamic market so unique.
by Liza B. Zimmerman

….Texas has always marched to its own drum. Residents are proud of their heritage and slow to forget the days when the state was its own republic. The density and pride of this region’s inhabitants often make it seem more like a country than a state. I don’t think the flag of many other states can be found flying in as many places as that of Texas.

What was once primarily a land of beer drinkers is warming up to wine at a fast and furious pace. ….. Total wine consumption in Texas is up from 31.68 to 32.51 million gallons in 2005 compared to 2006, according to Adams Wine Handbook 2007. Per capita consumption was also up from 2.10 to 2.12 gallons as was the number of legal drinking age residents in the state in the same period of time, according to Adams. All three figures are promising for the Texas wine market.

In celebration of our very first wedding anniversary, my husband and I spent last weeked in “Texas Wine Country,” also known as Stonewall. We only made it to three of the numerous vineyards on the Texas Hill Country’s so-called “Wine Road” along Highway 290 between Johnson City and Fredericksburg….

I am at a huge disadvantage, my wife and I have not had to pleasure of a Texas Wine Moment as we live in Tennessee. Several years ago, more like 18, I did live in McAllen, some of the best years of my life. If I could be selected as the winner of this, I could show my wife the real Texas. Oh, you can look me up in the 2008 Indy Amateur Competition, WineMaker or go to TVOS.org and look up me for the awards I have earned. Gold is a frequent visitor. I now have set my sights on Texas wine, more specifically “Black Spanish” wine, the BEST for the BEST. I take my wine making very serious and I need every advantage that I can get. Actually, I only assemble the ingredients; GOD is the one that makes the Wine.

We spent the day today on the PORT & Pairings — a Fredericksburg Wine Road 290 EVENT and had a wonderful time. We so enjoyed spending the day together exploring Texas wines. After 25 years of marriage, we still enjoy spending our days together and look forward to ejoying more of the Texas wineries